BackgroundTo examine changes in men‘s and women’s drinking in Norway over a 20-year period, in order to learn whether such changes have led to gender convergence in alcohol drinking.MethodsRepeated cross-sectional studies (in 1984–86, 1995–97, and 2006–08) of a large general population living in a geographically defined area (county) in Norway. Information about alcohol drinking is based on self-report questionnaires. Not all measures were assessed in all three surveys.ResultsAdult alcohol drinking patterns have changed markedly over a 20-year period. Abstaining has become rarer while consumption and rates of recent drinking and problematic drinking have increased. Most changes were in the same direction for men and women, but women have moved towards men’s drinking patterns in abstaining, recent drinking, problematic drinking and consumption. Intoxication (among recent drinkers) has decreased in both genders, but more in men than in women. The declines in gender differences, however, were age-specific and varied depending on which drinking behavior and which beverage was taken into account.ConclusionsThere has been a gender convergence in most drinking behaviours, including lifetime history of problem drinking, over the past 2–3 decades in this Norwegian general population, but the reasons for this convergence appear to be complex.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12889-016-3384-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

BackgroundParental alcohol misuse may negatively affect drinking behaviours among offspring, but it is unclear to what extent influences are gender-specific and dependent upon the actual drinking behaviour measured. The aim of this study was to investigate whether hazardous drinking among Norwegian teenage boys (N = 2538) and girls (N = 2494) was associated with paternal and maternal alcohol misuse (CAGE).MethodsDefinitions of hazardous drinking among offspring were based on self-reported alcohol consumption (in litres a year), frequency of drinking, and frequency of drunkenness. Based on this information, two composite measures of hazardous drinking were also constructed. Cross-sectional data from the Norwegian Young-HUNT 3 survey (2006–2008) were linked to information from biological parents who participated in the adult part of the HUNT study.ResultsLogistic regression analyses showed that both boys and girls with alcohol misusing fathers were more likely to report high levels of alcohol intake compared to others of the same age and gender. This was contrary to boys with misusing mothers, who reported less alcohol consumption than other boys. Among girls, but not boys, high frequency of drunkenness was associated with maternal as well as paternal misuse.ConclusionsThis study suggests that adolescent hazardous drinking is more prevalent among boys and girls with alcohol misusing parents versus those whose parents do not misuse alcohol. However, findings were gender specific and varied depending on the drinking outcomes under investigation. More evidence-based knowledge in this field is of great importance for better understanding the possible role paternal and maternal alcohol misuse may play in the development of hazardous alcohol drinking patterns among adolescent boys and girls.

Adolescence is a pivotal time for investing in both present and future health. Thus, it is important to identify arenas for promoting positive adolescent health behaviors and preventing negative ones. The aim of this study was to investigate the associations between organized sports participation (OSP) and a broad range of lifestyle habits in Norwegian adolescents. A comprehensive survey was completed by 13 269 junior high and high school students in southern Norway. Multivariable binary logistic regression models, adjusted for gender, age, and parental education, were used to investigate the associations between OSP and adolescent substance use, dietary habits, physical activity level, passive vs active transportation, screen time, and sleep duration. Inverse associations were found between OSP and adolescent substance use (odds ratio 0.40 [95% confidence interval 0.30‐0.52] to 0.68 [0.61‐0.76]), irregular consumption of main meals (0.58 [0.53‐0.63] to 0.78 [0.70‐0.89]), high intake of unhealthy food and beverages (0.55 [0.47‐0.65] to 0.86 [0.75‐0.98]), low intake of healthy food items (0.57 [0.51‐0.63] to 0.77 [0.70‐0.84]), low physical activity level (0.15 [0.14‐0.17]), high screen‐based activity (0.61 [0.55‐0.67]), passive vs active transportation (summer; 0.79 [0.72‐0.86] and winter; 0.84 [0.77‐0.92]), and short sleep duration, during both weekdays (0.57 [0.52‐0.63]) and weekends (0.79 [0.69‐0.89]). In conclusion, adolescents participating in organized sports had decreased odds for engaging in several unhealthy lifestyle habits compared with non‐participants, indicating that organized sports may be a relevant setting for promoting healthy behaviors among adolescents. Future studies are, however, needed to confirm a possible causal relationship.

This study focuses on a vulnerable group of pupils often missed by mainstream school surveys. It explores alcohol use and alcohol-related problems for a sample of truants of secondary school age, comparing behaviours with a school-based sample from the same geographical area. Analyses are based on a survey among truants (n = 107) and a school survey (n = 3702) undertaken in Bergen, Norway. When compared with mainstream pupils, the truants reported an earlier alcohol debut and a higher frequency of drinking. They reported significantly higher levels of binge drinking (6+ units). Truants were four times more likely to report regular drunkenness and twice as likely to report problems associated with their alcohol consumption. In the truancy sample, boys were more likely to engage in regular and excessive drinking, while girls reported higher levels of problems linked to their drinking. Results suggest that higher levels of truancy were related to more frequent drinking, drunkenness and alcohol-related problems. There are strong indications for early intervention activities directed at truants, and registration of truancy in itself could be a simple and effective way of identifying pupils at risk of a wide range of social and health problems, including high levels of alcohol use.

Intoxication in adolescence was associated with factors at both family and area level, which emphasize the need of both population and high risk preventive approaches.